alderman

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See also: Alderman

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English alderman, aldermon, from Old English ealdorman, ealdormann, from ealdor (elder, parent, chief, prince, author) + mann (person). See ealdorman.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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alderman (plural aldermen)

  1. A member of a municipal legislative body in a city or town.
  2. (UK, historical, slang, obsolete) A half-crown coin; its value, 30 pence.
  3. (smoking) A long pipe for smoking.
    • 1843, John William Carleton, The Sporting Review, volume 10, page 419:
      In one part of Cockaigne an amalgamation of these two last has lately taken place; and the pleasure experienced by the parishioners of Walbrook is unbounded when smoking an alderman and churchwarden.
  4. (US, slang) A large, protruding, or swollen abdomen; a paunch, a potbelly.
    • 1934, James T. Farrell, chapter 13, in The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan:
      He'd exercise, get the fat off, because if he let it go, he'd have too much on and maybe make his heart worse, and you looked like hell with an alderman. [] And she wouldn't want a guy who stuck out in front like a balloon.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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French

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English alderman.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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alderman m (plural aldermans)

  1. alderman

Further reading

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Old Frisian

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Alternative forms

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Noun

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alderman m

  1. alderman

Inflection

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Declension of alderman (masculine consonant stem)
singular plural
nominative alderman aldermen
genitive aldermannes aldermanna
dative aldermanne aldermannum, aldermannem
accusative alderman aldermen

Descendants

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  • West Frisian: âlderman